Weekly podcasts from Rick and Jonathan dealing with life’s issues from a biblical perspective
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We are now ready to consider the Eighth Commandment in our Ten Commandments Series. Through the first seven, we have seen that honoring God from our hearts and with our actions is our foundation. The Sabbath was created to remind us of this sacred responsibility. We are then taught to honor our parents as the basis for all of our human interactions. Next were the clear commands to not murder or commit adultery. We found that Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, seriously elevated the responsibilities of these specific commands. As we begin to examine the next Commandment, “You shall not steal,”
As we continue our Ten Commandment Series, we are now to the point of deeply examining the commandments that directly govern our interpersonal human relationships. This began with honoring our father and mother, as a basic tenant for living respectful lives. Next was the clear command to not murder, and we found that Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, seriously elevated the responsibilities of that command—to not even be angry with, insult or degrade our brothers or sisters. Next, we examine the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” As emotional as it was to discuss how Jesus r
In this Ten Commandments Series, we are looking at each commandment individually to see how they all apply to our present day personal Christian lives. In our systematic examination of each of the first five commandments, we have seen a powerful interconnectedness that deepens their meaning to us. The first three focus on God as our sole object of ultimate worship and loyalty. The Fourth Commandment to remember the Sabbath teaches us as Christians to rest in God through Jesus, making sure our motivations in life are continually spiritually focused. The Fifth Commandment to honor our father and
The Fifth Commandment God gave to Israel after He freed them from slavery was a simple statement of respect. God instructed each and every individual to honor their parents. To really understand the import of this command from God to His people of Israel and to us, it is important to do two things. First, recognize that appropriate “honor” for one’s parents really has its foundation in the previous four Commandments. Second, be aware that while honoring our parents does have its basis in honoring God, we must recognize that any and all honor we give them reflects how and why we honor God. So,
Although the Ten Commandments are well known, the sad reality is they certainly are not well practiced. In our current Ten Commandment series we are examining each one and how it relates to our Christian lives here and now. So far, we’ve covered the first three and have found them to be deeply connected and incredibly relevant for our everyday lives. We now look at the fourth, the command to remember the sabbath day and to keep it holy. As Christians, the issue here should be obvious. The Jewish sabbath is Saturday and we have our day of worship and rest on Sunday. Are we wrong in this approac
As we continue our Ten Commandments series, we are focusing on how each and every Commandment given by God to Israel after their being freed from slavery has direct and profound meaning for us as Christians. While we live in a VERY different world, the principles of each of those Commandments are powerfully important for us to follow in our walk as disciples of Jesus. The Third Commandment tells us to not take God’s name in vain. For the most part, we look at that and we might think, I don’t use God’s name in any inappropriate way, so I’m fine! Well, the reality is taking God’s name in vain is
In our last episode, we unfolded the revealing of the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel after they were miraculously freed from Egyptian slavery. We observed how God powerfully reminded them that their deliverance came from Him, and how their loyalty to Him was to be reflected by the First Commandment’s instruction of having no other gods before Him. As Christians, we were also rescued from the “slavery” of sin and death by God through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are therefore required to follow this Commandment and have our loyalty solely focused on God through Christ. The Second Comman
The giving of the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel after their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt was part of one of the most memorable series of events in the entire Old Testament. Here were these millions of people who were now free from bondage but as yet with no home, and no way to take care of themselves other than trusting in Moses who was following God’s instructions. The giving of these ten foundational laws would set them up to understand who God was and what He would expect from them regarding their honoring Him and their respecting one another. These Ten Commandmen
If we are not careful, it can be easy to misrepresent God. So often we hear people proclaim that God is a God of anger and wrath, a God who demands that we fear Him. While God does absolutely and ultimately demand that all will eventually honor and reverence Him, we need to be able to grasp what He requires of humanity now. The Bible, if carefully understood, supplies these answers. By examining what “fear of the Lord” looks like first in the Old Testament and then in the New, we can receive a clear picture of what He demands. What does this picture show us? It reveals His power, His authority
Temptation is everywhere. In fact, it may be lurking in places that we are not even aware of. Let’s put this in perspective: Who do you claim to be? If you answered that you claim to be a Christian, then the next question is, who do you serve and in whose footsteps are you therefore to walk? Our answers should be that we serve God and are walking in the footsteps of Jesus our Lord! Now here’s the test: Let’s think about our associations, our work or school environments, our friends, the shows we watch, the influencers we follow, the music we listen to and the posts we make and read. Where are
We all sin. We all make mistakes and sometimes they are just plain embarrassing. As Christians, we know that forgiveness for our sins can be readily available as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice. The question is, what do I have to do to access that availability? Is it automatic? Am I forgiven just because I have claimed the name of Jesus? The answer to that question is an emphatic NO! While being a disciple of Christ grants us access to forgiveness from God, it does not automatically apply that forgiveness to our ongoing sins. So, what do we have to do? Do we actually have to confess our sins in d
There are two fundamental lessons we can learn about God from having a general knowledge of the true message of the Bible. First, we know that God is love, as He created humanity for the sake of having an eternal human family. Second, God is just. His love for humanity is not weak and unreliable; it is based on a solid foundation of justice. When Adam sinned, this justice aspect of His character was plain to see as Adam would no longer have eternal life. He would now be destined to live out his life outside of the Garden of Eden, in a different environment than he had originally been given. Ad
In Part I of this 2-part series, we introduced several reasons why many Christians believe women should be able to serve as pastors. Our scriptural considerations began with understanding what the "equality in Christ" in our theme text means. We found that it is pointing to an immovable foundation for people of differing ethnicities, different social standings and both genders to stand firmly upon. While Christ does not change our heritage, social standing or gender privileges, he equally welcomes all of us. We also briefly examined the roles of a few prominent Old Testament women. Here we dis
The world has changed dramatically over the last 2,000 years. If you are accessing this podcast information, then the world you live in has gone from a very localized environment where the fastest news traveled was by horseback or boat, to a society of instant access for all news and information. Your world has transformed from a patriarchal society where men represented the vast majority of power and influence in life, to a society that continues to make all roles equally available for both men and women. So, has Christianity kept up with the times? Have we made all roles, specifically the ro
In our last episode, we laid out a scriptural foundation for how human free will works by considering two Old Testament accounts. First, we looked at Joshua and how he was called upon by God to lead Israel after the death of Moses. His choosing to closely follow God’s direction in this task made him a great leader. This showed us the profound value of always using God’s word and His will to guide us. Second, we looked at the account of Adam and Eve and their sin. Their poor choices showed us how easy it is for us to apply our free will in self-destructive ways by listening to other voices that
The Bible plainly teaches us that God in His unfathomable wisdom and power has a clear plan for the destiny of ALL humanity. We also know according to 1 Peter 1:20 that His plan for the sacrifice of Jesus was clearly in place even before the earth was created. Now, if God’s plan was clear to Him even before humanity existed, how does that fit into our understanding that each and every one of us has free will? Wouldn’t His foreknowledge by its very existence make us all puppets in His hands? If He knows how it will all turn out, then aren’t we just playing a predetermined role? Actually, nothin
Are Christians who claim to heal and who claim to speak in tongues operating within the scriptural guidelines of Christianity today, or have they taken a giant step over the line of appropriate Christian behavior? In our last episode, we observed how the Old Testament established healing as an occasional gift and was not necessarily granted based on faith. We also observed that Jesus healed the masses and generally did not require faith and following to give that gift. We also saw that Old Testament speaking in tongues was absolutely speaking in foreign languages. It was a sign of God’s disapp
Christianity today is diverse. When you think about it, there should only be one version of the Gospel, and it should be entirely based upon the Bible as a whole, specifically the words and actions of Jesus as well as the words and actions of his apostles and disciples in the New Testament. In many cases, the Gospel has unfortunately been reduced to a wide variety of denominations and beliefs that often contradict one another. One area of this divergence has to do with the gift of healing and speaking in tongues in the Bible. Many Christians today believe these two spiritual gifts continue tod
In our last episode, we examined the deep lessons Jesus was teaching his apostles when he appeared to seven of them after his resurrection while they were fishing. His miracle of orchestrating the massive catch of fish was a direct throwback to his fishing miracle three years before, when Simon Peter finally gave up fishing to exclusively follow Jesus. The first fishing miracle was a message about giving up all else to follow Jesus and to learn to be fishers of men. The second fishing miracle was a message to now become those fishers of men and step up to lead and preach. Jesus’ next direct co
The crucifixion of Jesus was an event that absolutely overwhelmed his apostles and disciples. Even though Jesus had forewarned them of what was coming, they were still taken by complete surprise. In his great wisdom, Jesus arranged his post-resurrection appearances in such a way as to them to show them not only who he was, but what was to come. It is fascinating to see how he revealed more and more about their future with each appearance. When we get to his third appearance to a group of his apostles, Jesus came to them as they were fishing. What he did and what he taught related to fishing ga
There are many Bible accounts that have gathered a lot of attention over centuries because of their dramatic content. Cain and Abel, Noah and the Ark and David and Goliath are all powerful and dramatic Old Testament accounts filled with action. Two New Testament are Jesus in the manger and Jesus on the cross. All of these named stories show us a hero and their experiences. Then we have “Doubting Thomas.” Here was an apostle who did not betray Jesus and who was ultimately faithful to his calling, and yet we know him as the doubter. Is this a fair and unbiased way to be remembering one of Jesus’
God is watching over me. God’s got this. The Lord will take care of it. These are all expressions of faith in God’s overruling care for us. While this kind of faith is something we should all strive for, the question remains as to what makes these statements true. Just because I say, “God will take care of it,” does that mean it is absolutely going to happen? Are there things that I personally need to have in place for God’s providence to be reality, or does saying this with conviction qualify as having enough faith? Is there a difference between our believing in God’s attentive care and His a
Let’s get practical. For most of us, the largest portion of our waking hours is spent working in one way or another to support ourselves and our household. Whether we are in a trade or at a desk, whether we are engaged in a service or retail or farming, building, manufacturing or raising children or going to school or freelancing, most of us are tied to the responsibility of investing time into our physical care. Now, if we are truly dedicated Christians, we know our primary responsibility is to God through Christ. How do we make these seemingly contradictory investments of our time work in pe
At the beginning of his second letter, the Apostle Peter reminded us that God, in His power and love, has graciously given us everything we need to be faithful to the calling of discipleship. This walk of sacrifice is supported by the overwhelming gift of God’s precious and magnificent promises. Peter then tells us that because we have such privilege and grace before us to build on our faith. He tells us that as a result of having this gift of faith, it should help us fully develop moral excellence. That moral excellence should in turn drive us towards spiritual knowledge, which feeds our abil
We have arrived! This episode explores the final and highest rung of the Apostle Peter’s “virtue ladder”- agape, the selfless, God‑shaped love that defines the true purpose of Christian character. We walk through how each previous rung—faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self‑control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness—builds the capacity to reach this culminating form of love. While Strong’s Concordance's Greek definition of agape may sound simple or even underwhelming, Scripture masterfully fills the word with depth, weight and divine intention. This eight and final rung powerful
